Wire-splicer



(No Model.) I' y J. A. HBLVIN. & H. VAN HOEVENBERGH.

WIRE SPLIGBR.`

No. 326,906. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

n Q01l buenos@ 51m/venlo w UNITED STATES PATENT Ottica.

JOHN A. HELVIN, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., AND HENRY VAN HOEVENBERGH, OF ELIZABETH, N EV JERSEY.

WIRE-SPLICER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 326,906, dated September 22, 1885.

Application filed February 1l, 1885. (No model.)

To LZZ whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that we, JOHN A. HELVIN and HENRY VAN HoEvENBERGH, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, in New York, in the county and State of New York, and Elizabeth, in the county ot' Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vire-Splicers, of

which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the class of devices employed for coupling or splicing the ends of wires with each other.

The object of the invention is to provide convenient and efficient means for joining or coupling wires which are more or less ductile, and which may not be securely fastened together by the ordinary methods without extreme care.

The invention is designed especially for use in connection with copper conductors employed for electrical purposes, and to render it possible toform a reliable electrical connection and a strong and secure joint without necessitating the employment of pliers. In constructing copper lines it is considered req uisite that the wires should not be handled by pliers, for the indentations which would thus be made would greatly weaken the wire and render it more liable to stretch and break at such points.

The invention consists in constructing a short sleeve or thimble ot' strong metal-such as brass-having two longitudinal perforations of suitable size for receiving the two conduca ors. rlhrough these perforations it is designed that the ends of the conductors to be united shall be inserted in opposite directions. The protruding end ot' each conductor is wrapped by hand about the portion of the other conductor adjacent to the thimble or sleeve.

For the purpose of conveniently holding the sleeve so that the wires may not be twisted while the joint is being made, a wrench or holding-clamp ot' peculiar construction is employed. The thimble or sleeve is formed with two recesses upon opposite sides for receiving the jaws of the clamp. The clamp is of metal, and its jaws are designed to tit closely within the recesses. Vhen the sleeve is applied to copper wires, and, in fact, to wires ot' almost any material, andl held by the clamp, the ends may be readily wrapped about the conductors by hand without the necessity of employing the pliers. Ihe protruding ends are of such length that they may be readily handled, and after a sufficient number of convolutions have been made the ends may be out off by suitable wire-cutters.

It has been heretofore proposed to couple or joint wires by means of a double metallic tube or sleeve, through which the wires are inserted and into which they are soldered. The ends ot' these conductors have in these instances, however, been either bent slightly, so that they will readily draw back through the tubes while being soldered, or else they have been bent backward upon themselves and the ends cach inserted into a shallow recess formed in the corresponding end ofthe 7o sleeve. In the present invention the wires are each wrapped about the other and securely held in position, whether soldered or not, and at the same time insuring more perfect electrical connections.

It is usually desirable in coupling electrical conductors that the joints should be soldered for the purpose of securing reliable and permanent electrical connections. In applying solder, however, to copper conductors it has been found difficult to prevent the copper from annealing. By applying the sleeve or coupling described in this application itis found that the amount ot' metal contained both in the coupling and the clamp and brought into immediate contact with the mire is sutlicient to prevent the points at which the solder is applied from becoming greatly heated, and thus the wire is prevented from being annealed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l shows the sleeve as applied to conductors, and Fig. 2 is a cross-section ofthe sleeve with the wires in place. Fig. 3 is a side View of the clamp which it is preferred to employ.

Referring to the iigures, A represents a metallic thimble or sleeve through which are formed longitudinal perforations a and ci. Through these perforations it is designed that the conductors L and L2 shall be inserted, the ends 10o Z and Z'Z projecting from the opposite ends), respectively. These projecting ends are respectively designed to be wrapped about the Wire entering at the same end; and for the purpose of holding the coupling securely while4 this operation is being effected the clamp shown in Fig. 3 is employed. This clamp is constructed with ahandle, C. Upon the handle C there is a screw, c, entering a corresponding point in the head D. Upon the head D there is formed a stationary jaw, d, and a movablejaw, d', is pivoted to a supporting-lever d2. The end of the screw c presses against the jaw d', and by turning the handle in one direction thislast-named jaw is forced forward toward the jaw d. The clamp is preferably of metal, and the two jaws are designed to tit closely within two recesses, e andV e2, formed in the opposite sides of the coupling or sleeve A. When the clamp is applied to the coupling, the ends Z and Z2 of the wires may be very readily wrappedl by hand about the portions of the conductors L and L2 adjacent thereto.

Conductors coupled in this manner form a strong joint, and one which, even though the metal be very ductile, cannot be pulled apart, for the bent portions, by striking against the head of the coupling A, will be prevented from` uucoiliug; and a very important advantagesecured is that the using of pliers formanipulating the Wire is dispensed with, and at no point is there formed an indentation or a twist in the wire.

When the conductors have been thus .wrapped the one about the other, the ends may their length, and the recesses formed in the sides are cut parallel with a plane passing through both apertures. In this manner a Very compact coupling is formed.

We claim as our invention- 1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with twowires, of a coupling consisting of amet-allic sleeve having two longitudinal apertures formed therethrough, through which apertures said conductors are inserted in opposite directions, the end of each conductor being wrapped about the other conductor, substantially as described.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with two Wires, of a coupling consisting of a metallic sleeve having two longitudinal apertures formed therethrough, through Which said wires extend in opposite directions, and having recesses thrilled upon its opposite sides, substantially as described.

3. A metallic coupling for wires, consisting of a sleeve having apertures formed therethrough longitudinally, and having recesses formed in its opposite sides, substantially as described.

4. The coupling for wires. consisting of the thimble or sleeve A, having longitudinal apertures a and a, and the recesses e and e2, the bottoms of which recesses are parallel with a plane passing through both of said apertures.

5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, withtwo wires, of a coupling consisting cfa metallic sleeve having two apertures formed therethrough, through which said conductors are inserted in opposite directions. the end of each conductor being Wrapped I about the other conductor, substantially as described, and being united therewith at the joint thus formed by being soldered.

in testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names this 5th day of February, A. D. 1885.

JOHN A. HELVIN. HENRY VAN HOEVENBERGH. Witnesses:

DANL. WV. EDGECOMB, CHARLES A. TERRY. 

